HCS/HB 253 - This act authorizes the enrollment of nonresident students in public school districts and modifies provisions regarding transportation costs for certain school districts. MAGNET SCHOOLS (Section 163.161)
Under this act, any school district that operates magnet schools as part of a master desegregation settlement agreement shall not be considered inefficient for purposes of state aid for transportation of pupils attending such magnet schools and shall not receive a financial penalty for the magnet school transportation portion of the overall transportation budget. This provision is identical to a provision in HCS/SS#2/SCS/SBs 4, 42, & 89 (2023), a provision in SCS/SB 5 (2023), HB 672 (2023), and a provision in SB 1010 (2022).
PUBLIC SCHOOL OPEN ENROLLMENT ACT (Sections 167.1200 to 167.1230)
The act establishes the "Public School Open Enrollment Act" to enable students to transfer from their district of residence ("resident district") to a nonresident district. No student shall be enrolled under this Act before July 1, 2024. These provisions are similar to SCS/SB 5 (2023), SB 1010 (2022), HB 1814 (2022), and HS/HCS/HB 543 (2021).
TRANSFER POLICY AND PARTICIPATION (Section 167.1205)
The act specifies that any student beginning kindergarten or already enrolled in a public school may attend a public school in a nonresident district participating in the open enrollment program. Before December 1st of each year, each school district shall indicate whether it intends to participate in the program during the subsequent school year.
Districts that participate in open enrollment shall not be required to add teachers, staff, or classrooms to accommodate transfer applicants. Districts may restrict the number of students who transfer to a nonresident district to 3% of the previous school year's enrollment. The act authorizes Hickman Mills School District to prevent or otherwise restrict the number of students leaving the district under the open enrollment program until the 2026-27 school year.
School districts that are served by a special school district shall reach an agreement with the special school district regarding finance and staffing before participating in the program. If a nonresident district determines that it is unable to provide required special educational services for a child with disabilities, the nonresident district shall not be required to provide such services. A nonresident district may make such a determination after consulting with the child's resident district and any local public, private, and not-for-profit agencies that provide services for children with disabilities.
A school district may establish standards for the acceptance and rejection of transfer applications based on criteria outlined in the act. Such standards may include the capacity of the school, the availability of classroom space, and any class-size limitation. The standards shall also include a statement that priority shall be given to any applicant who has a sibling who is already enrolled in the nonresident district. The standards shall not include a consideration of an applicant's academic achievement, athletic ability, disabilities, English proficiency level, or previous disciplinary proceedings, except that any suspension or expulsion from another district shall be included.
A nonresident district shall accept credits toward graduation that were awarded by another district and award a diploma to a transferring student if the student meets the nonresident district's graduation requirements. Students who wish to attend a nonresident school that has an academic or competitive entrance process shall furnish proof that they meet the admission requirements of the nonresident school.
The superintendent of each school district shall cause information about the open enrollment program to be posted on the district website and in the student handbook.
The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) or an entity skilled in policy development shall develop a model open enrollment transfer policy as outlined in the act. All public schools shall adopt the model policy, regardless of whether they participate in the program. A local school board may modify the model policy based on the school district's needs.
High school students who participate in open enrollment may not participate in varsity sports during the first 365 days of enrollment in a nonresident district, with exceptions outlined in the act.
APPLYING FOR TRANSFER (Section 167.1210)
A student who applies for a transfer under the act may accept only one transfer per school year. A student who transfers to a nonresident district and then returns to their district of residence shall complete a full semester in their district of residence before applying for another transfer. A student who transfers to a nonresident district may complete all remaining school years in the nonresident district without reapplying each year. Any sibling of a student enrolled in a nonresident district may enroll in the same nonresident district if the district has the capacity, as provided in the act.
For the purposes of determining federal and state aid, a student who transfers to a nonresident district shall be counted as a resident of the nonresident district, except for federal calculations of military impact aid.
Parents shall be responsible for transportation to the nonresident school or to an existing bus stop location in the nonresident district. Students who qualify for free and reduced price lunch or who have transportation included in their individualized education program (IEP) may have transportation expenses reimbursed quarterly as outlined in the act.
PARENT PUBLIC SCHOOL CHOICE FUNDS (Sections 167.1211 and 167.1212)
The act establishes the "Parent Public School Choice Fund" with an $80 million appropriation. Moneys in the fund shall be used to supplement state aid payments to districts that participate in the open enrollment program; reimburse transferring students who qualify for free and reduced price meals for their transportation costs; reimburse nonresident districts for transportation costs for students who have transportation included in their IEPs; and reimburse nonresident districts for special educational services for students with an IEP, as outlined in the act.
NUMBER OF TRANSFER STUDENTS (Section 167.1215)
Before December 1st annually, each school district shall set and publish the number of transfer students the district is willing to receive for the following school year, if any. Districts shall also develop a policy for a wait list, as provided in the act.
APPLICATION PROCESS (Section 167.1220)
The act describes the transfer application process and the requirements for notifications of acceptance or rejection. Superintendents shall review and make a determination on transfer applications in a timely manner. The act outlines the reasons why an eligible application for a transfer may be rejected, including a change in the student's residence, a change in the parents' marital status, or a student's placement in foster care. The reasons for any rejection shall be submitted to the local school board for review. Notification of a rejection shall be provided to the parent in writing by June 1st. DESE shall be notified of all accepted students and shall request that the parents of accepted students participate in an anonymous survey related to their reasons for participating in the open enrollment program. DESE shall publish an annual report based on the survey results.
AUTHORIZED EXEMPTIONS (Section 167.1225)
A student may participate in open enrollment if such student's transfer does not cause the resident school district to conflict with a provision of an enforceable desegregation court order or a court-approved desegregation plan. Any student who transfers from a K-8 district shall enroll in the nonresident district before the end of the student's fifth grade year; otherwise, the K-8 district shall pay tuition to the nonresident district as provided in the act. Additional exemptions are specified for students who qualify for transfers under other provisions of law.
APPEAL PROCEDURE (Section 167.1227)
A student whose transfer application is rejected may appeal to DESE to request that the application be reconsidered, as specified in the act. Such an appeal shall be in writing and shall also be sent to the nonresident district's superintendent. Within ten days of receiving the student's appeal, the nonresident district may submit to DESE any additional information supporting the district's rejection of the student's transfer application. The nonresident district shall also mail a copy of the response to the student or the student's parent. If DESE overturns the determination of the nonresident district on appeal, DESE shall notify the student's parent, the nonresident district, and the resident district of the basis for such decision.
ANNUAL REPORTING AND AUDITING (Section 167.1229)
DESE shall collect and report data annually from school districts on the number of applications and study the effects of transfers under the Open Enrollment Act. The report shall be submitted annually by December 1st to the Joint Committee on Education, the House Committee on Elementary and Secondary Education, and the Senate Committee on Education.
DESE shall annually make a random selection of 10% of the school districts participating in the open enrollment program and audit each selected district's transfers approved or denied under policies adopted by the school board. If DESE determines that a selected school district is improperly implementing and administering the transfer process, DESE may withhold any state aid provided to the school district until the school district corrects the transfer process improprieties identified by the audit.
ALTERNATIVE FUNDING (Section 167.1230)
The act outlines what steps shall be taken if the Parent Public School Choice Fund does not have sufficient funding to provide all eligible reimbursements for transportation and special education expenses. In such situations, school districts may modify their open enrollment policy as provided in the act, and all eligible transferring students who are enrolled in a nonresident district may remain in the nonresident district. Additionally, all reimbursable transportation costs shall be considered eligible expenses for the nonresident district under the provisions of law relating to state aid for transportation of pupils, and transferring students who receive special educational services shall be given additional weighting in the state aid formula calculation for the nonresident district.
OLIVIA SHANNON